August 28, 2014 5:16am EDTAugust 28, 2014 7:00am EDTThe Marlins star felt the need to expand on something he said earlier in the week that sounded like a step toward the exit.Giancarlo Stanton(AP Photo)

Giancarlo Stanton is trying to walk a tightrope. He doesn't want to come off as wanting out of Miami, or as having bought into the Marlins after five months of .500 ball.

That's why he felt the need Wednesday to expand on something he said earlier in the week that sounded like a step toward the exit.

The quote that raised eyebrows: "Five months doesn't change five years." Five years of lowball contracts, fire sales and general distrust of management.

Let the nuancing begin.

"There is no answer to what my future is," Stanton told reporters in Anaheim, per the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "If I say, 'I don't know,' then it's 'He's out.' If I say anything else, 'He's in.' That's the basis of it . . . It's not completely positive because of the past. There is no good. There is no bad. We're here. We're in a good spot. There's where we are now. There is no, 'Am I staying forever, am I leaving forever?' There is no answer to that."

Bottom line: Stanton hasn't fogotten the bad stuff that took place prior to this year's modest success.

Further complicating the matter: Stanton will receive a ton of support for NL MVP, if not win the award. That will surely add a few bucks to his contract demands and perhaps hasten his departure, a departure for which Stanton doesn't want to publicly campaign right now.